Larkin's vote was key. There are 17 members of the health committee, nine of whom caucus with the GOP. Larkin voted with eight Democrats, allowing the bill to move ahead to the Senate Finance Committee.

The 86-year-old senator, who has been in the Legislature since 1979, represents a district that stretches from Plattekill and Marlborough in Ulster County to Haverstraw and Stony Point in Rockland.

In an interview Tuesday, Larkin said he was persuaded by stories from parents of young children with epilepsy who haven’t responded well to currently available treatments. Proponents of medical marijuana have pushed the potential benefits of oil-based products for children suffering from epileptic seizures.

“In my district, I had several people come to me with their child or their grandchild,” Larkin said. “You can see the tears in their eyes. They’re stymied. There’s nothing they can do.”

Larkin continued: “I voted my conscience.”

The fate of the bill, however, remains unclear. Senate Finance Chairman John DeFrancisco, R-Syracuse, hasn't signaled whether he will put it on his committee's agenda, and Senate Republican Leader Dean Skelos, R-Nassau County, has expressed concern about allowing medical marijuana to be smoked.